1. The Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to mounting systems for canopies, biminis, sunshades and tops for boats and other vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to create a shelter on a boat, most consumers purchase a bimini top and mount it to the gunwales of the boat. U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,139 to King 1996 shows a typical bimini top used for ski boats. A bimini top is a form of a sunshade with 2 to 4 inverted U-shaped bows held together with hinges to create a collapsible frame work that supports material for shelter.
In the past most, ski ropes have been typically attached to the transom of the boat or to a ski pylori located in the center of the boat. The rope has been generally located about one to two feet above the water surface while pulling a skier. With the popularity of wake boarding and the desire to enhance water sports performance, boat manufactures now mount a metal framework, called a tower, to the gunwales of the boat. The tower extends upwards at an angle to create a mounting point for the rope that is relatively centered over the boat and that is about six to eight feet above the water surface thus enhancing an upward pull for the person being towed. U.S. Pat. Des. 409,972 to Todd 1999 shows a typical tower used for towing water sports activities. The framework of a typical tower consequently interferes with the framework of a traditional bimini top thus rendering it useless. Further, because of the different designs of boat towers, it is difficult to utilize the same mounting hardware on each installation. It would therefore be an improvement over the previously available mounting systems to provide a system for mounting boat canopies to towers that is able to accommodate towers of varying design.
The features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.